


Five Times Steven said I Love You and the One Time He Didn’t

by FourFaces



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, angst for the last, fluff for the first five
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 18:15:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8633263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FourFaces/pseuds/FourFaces
Summary: Because you all wanted to cry, right?





	1. Greg

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr. Short chapters.

He had been so excited to finally come live with the gems that he felt almost ashamed when the day actually came. He was nervous and scared.

What if they didn’t really like him? They had always seemed so magical and mysterious. And so cool! He wasn’t nearly as cool as they were.

But his dad was there to reassure him, just as he had always been.

That was the second thing that made him feel ashamed. He had, of course, known that his dad wouldn’t be living with him, but now that he was truly faced with it, it hurt him to think about it. What would his dad do without him there?

That night, as Greg tucked him into bed, Steven hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go.

“It’s OK, Stu-ball!” Greg smiled. “We can still hang out! I’ll visit you whenever you want me and when you’re not being trained, you can come hang out at the car wash!”

Steven sniffled. “B-but I’m gonna miss you, Dad.”

Greg smiled sadly and patted him on the back.

“I’ll miss you too, bud. But, I’ll still be there if you need me.”

Steven wiped his eyes and smiled again.

“I love you dad.”


	2. Pearl

He hadn’t realized he said it until it was too late.

She was the most like a mother to him and it was only logical that he might accidentally say it to such a powerful creature. Still, he wasn’t sure how she would take it.

When he finally looked up at her, he saw that her eyes were brimming with tears and her lips wavered.

“Oh Steven,” she whispered before pulling him into a hug. “I love you too!”


	3. Garnet

After he had told her about what he thought her day had been like, Garnet made a point of telling Steven she loved him more often. She hadn’t thought about him doubting her love for him before and she never wanted him to feel that again.

“I love yous” were shared so often between the two and they had bonded so much that newcomers to Beach City would often believe they were truly mother and son (before learning the truth about the gems that lived in the small city, of course). 

The night after the escape from the Hand Ship, Garnet tucked Steven into bed and watched as he closed his eyes, finally tired enough to sleep after all of the excitement.

“Garnet?” Steven whispered before she turned to walk down the stairs.

“Yes?” she smiled.

“I love you … and Ruby and Sapphire too.”

Garnet smiled proudly.

“I love you too, Steven."


	4. Amethyst

He always worried about her.

She was reckless, he knew it. He often had nightmares about her gem cracking in half, Steven unable to save her.

After seeing the Slinker constantly poofing Amethyst, he tried to make himself numb to it, but it didn’t work. He had seen her body contort and twist into so many shapes and it frightened him.

What frightened him the most was learning that Amethyst didn’t love herself.

Now he had to make it a point to tell her, all the time, that he loved her.

He didn’t want her to feel that ever again.


	5. Peridot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next one is our "plus one"!

He had wanted a little sister back when he was five. Before his father had explained to him that it probably wouldn’t happen.

Now he had one!

And they were about to die.

He was so proud of her for having stood up to Yellow Diamond and for having become part of the team. He was proud of her for becoming someone who cared about the Earth, about the other gems.

About him.

As she apologized to him, he felt his heart break.

He knew she still had some of the old thinking from Homeworld.

That she was just a Peridot.

That she was expendable.

That she wasn’t worth it.

His last words needed to reassure her. To let her know that someone cared. That someone understood that she tried her best.

“I love you, Peridot,” he whimpered, hugging her tight.

“Wow, thanks,” the olivine gem whimpered, trying to place it. She had heard the gems say this so much to Steven and he had heard Steven say it to them and to his father.

She was really family now. She was part of something bigger.

When they had bubbled the Cluster and returned to the surface, she knew that she needed to talk with Garnet about this. Was she really a part of the family now or was Steven just saying that.

“Steven always wanted a little sister. Someone who he could teach and love. And now he has one,” Garnet eventually told her, ruffling her hair.

Peridot couldn’t have been prouder.


	6. Connie

He had told just about everyone he loved them. Even Lars at one point. Even the picture of his mother.

But he never told her.

As he picked his way through the debris of the battlefield, his heart sank with each step.

Jasper had been felled early on and Lapis was currently in her gem. The Crystal Gems who he had called his family were still alive, but after the fusion had split after a spear had been run through them, he had counted everyone except her.

Peridot’s shrill scream alerted him and he broke into a run. He didn’t want to believe what he saw as he came closer.

Peridot was holding Connie close, trying to shake the human awake.

He knew, instantly, that she was already gone. She had lost so much blood and her eyes were frozen open, glazed over and forever staring ahead.

He collapsed next to Peridot and gently took Connie from her.

He hadn’t felt like “I love you” would be adequate for describing how he felt to her. He had always thought he would have time.

But of course, Garnet had been right when she had told him that he needed to be honest with her now that she was training in earnest. He had brushed it off, saying that he would have time, that she probably knew how much he loved her because of Stevonnie.

But now, he knew she most likely never knew. She never knew and yet she still did this for him.

He felt tears cascade down his cheek.

He couldn’t even say it to her now.

It was too late.


End file.
